(Note: In 2011, DC public schools began transitioning to the Common Core State Standards.)

• Geography of D.C.

  • 3.1. Broad Concept: Students use cardinal directions, map scales, legends, and titles to locate places on contemporary maps of Washington, DC, and the local community.

    Students:

    1. Compare and contrast the differences between a contemporary map of Washington, DC, and maps of this area at the end of the 18th and 19th centuries. (G)
    2. Identify and locate major physical features and natural characteristics (e.g., bodies of water, land forms, natural resources, and weather) in Washington, DC. (G)
    3. Identify and locate major monuments and historical sites in and around Washington, DC (e.g., the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials, Smithsonian museums, Library of Congress, White House, Capitol, Washington Monument, National Archives, Arlington National Cemetery, African American Civil War Museum, Anacostia Museum, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, Frederick Douglass House, Mary McCleod Bethune House, Wilson Building, and Mount Vernon). (G, P)
    4. Describe the various types of communities within the city (e.g., Chinatown, Foggy Bottom, Adams Morgan, Anacostia, and Georgetown), beginning with the community in which the elementary school is located. (G, S)
    5. Describe the ways in which people have used and modified resources in the local region (e.g., building roads, bridges, and cities, and raising crops). (G, S)
    6. Explain how people depend on the physical environment and its natural resources to satisfy their basic needs. (G, S)

    Examples

    • Students compare a contemporary map to a historical map of Washington, DC, noticing the differences and similarities between them. In pairs, they create a Venn diagram to record the observations (www.loc.gov/exhibits/us.capitol/oneoone.jpg) (3.1.1).
    • Students each draw their own map of Washington, DC, accentuating certain aspects (e.g., political, physical, or specialized maps such as a detailed map of the Mall). Students compile the maps to make a class atlas of the Washington, DC, area (3.1.2).
    • Students choose a monument or historical site to research. They determine the history behind the creation of each monument or site, and they list the reasons why it is important (www.washingtondcmetroweb.com/Monuments.htm) (3.1.3).

• Government of D.C.

  • 3.2. Broad Concept: Students understand the basic structure of the Washington, DC, government.

    Students:

    1. Describe its duties, organizational structures, and functions. (P)
    2. Explain why it is necessary for communities to have governments (e.g., governments provide order and protect rights). (P)
    3. Identify the different ways people in a community can influence their local government (e.g., by voting, running for office, testifying at hearings, or participating in meetings).
    4. Describe the distinctions between local, state, and national government. (P)
    5. Identify the representative leaders in Washington, DC, and neighboring states. (P)

    Examples

    • Students create a scenario related to a school policy over which there has been some disagreement (e.g., dress code). They develop a list of reasons for and against the policy and discuss what should happen if some students decide to ignore the policy (3.2.2).
    • Students choose an issue of importance to their community (e.g., an issue about littering or recycling of waste) and brainstorm ways in which they can influence their local government to support such an issue. As a class, students create an action plan to address their issue, including inviting a local activist or elected official to speak to the class about how they are addressing the issue (3.2.3).
    • Students determine an issue of interest to them (e.g., an issue about graffiti or school safety) and research the ramifications to the city if the issue is not addressed. They write a letter to their representative in support of or against certain actions to address it (3.2.4).

• Economy of the Local Region

  • 3.3. Broad Concept: Students demonstrate basic economic reasoning skills and an understanding of the economy of the local region.

    Students:

    1. Outline the ways in which local producers have used and are using natural resources, human resources, and capital resources to produce goods and services in the past and the present. (G, E)
    2. Explain what a tax is and the purposes for taxes, and with the help of their teachers and parents, provide examples of different kinds of taxes (e.g., property, sales, income). (E)
    3. Describe the specialization in jobs and businesses and provide examples of specialized businesses in the community. (E)
    4. Define what bartering is (e.g., trading baseball cards with each other) and how money makes it easier for people to get things they want. (E)
    5. Identify ways in which Washington, DC, meets the economic needs of its citizens (e.g., housing, jobs, health, transportation, recreation). (E, S)

    Examples

    • In small groups, students assign dollar values to postcards of the historic sites of Washington, DC. Students then barter with one another to get the most desirable cards. Students repeat the exercise with play money and compare the two methods of trading (3.3.4).

• History of D.C. (18th-20th Centuries)

  • 3.4. Broad Concept: Emphasizing the most significant differences, students describe Washington, DC, at the end of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.

    Students:

    1. Compare and contrast how people in the past met their needs in different ways (e.g., hunting and gathering, subsistence agriculture, barter, commerce, and manufacturing). (E)
    2. Construct a chronological explanation of key people and events that were important in shaping the character of Washington, DC, during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. (H, P, S)
    3. Understand the unique nature of Washington, DC, as the nation’s capital, a multicultural urban city, and the jurisdiction that provides the state and local government for its residents. (P, S)
    4. Explain how Washington, DC, was selected and named as our capital city. (P, S)
    5. Identify and research outstanding statements of moral and civic principles made in Washington, DC, and the leaders who delivered them, that contributed to the struggle to extend equal rights to all Americans (e.g., Lincoln and his second inaugural address, Frederick Douglass and his speech against lynching at the Metropolitan AME Church, Martin Luther King Jr. and his speeches at the Lincoln Memorial in 1957 and 1963, and Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales at the Poor People’s March). (P)

    Examples

    • Students research the biographies of important historical figures in Washington, DC. They create brochures to represent the accomplishments of their person and display them on a timeline (3.4.2).
    • Students listen to Martin’s Big Words, by Doreen Rappaport, and to Dr. King’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial. In pairs, students illustrate key sections of the speech to display on a bulletin board (3.4.5).
• 3.5. Broad Concept: Students draw from historical and community resources to organize the sequence of local historical events and describe how each period of settlement left its mark on the land. (G, P)

  Examples

  • In small groups, students research different periods of Washington, DC, history and write a skit to represent it. They create a map (or use primary source maps and/or pictures) to show how the city appeared at the time of settlement. They present their skits and maps to the class in chronological order (3.5).

CO.1. Standard: History

• CO.1.1. Concepts and skills students master:

  • People in the past influence the development and interaction of different communities or regions

  Evidence Outcomes

  Students can:

  • a. Compare past and present situations and events
  • b. Chronologically sequence important events in a community or region
  • c. Give examples of people and events, and developments that brought important changes to a community or region
  • d. Describe the history, interaction, and contribution of the various peoples and cultures that have lived in or migrated to a community or region

  21st-century Skills and Readiness Competencies

  Inquiry Questions:

  1. How have different groups of people both lived together and interacted with each other in the past?
  2. What types of questions do people ask to learn about the past?
  4. What types of questions do people ask to learn about the past?

Relevance and Application:

1. The context and information from the past is used to make connections and inform decisions in the present. For example, the development and traditions of various groups in a region affect the economic development, tourist industry and the cultural make-up of a community.
2. Technological developments continue to evolve and affect the present and permit innovation in a region. For example, Hispanics influence the culture in Pueblo; the military affects the culture in the Pikes Peak region; and the ski industry and mining affect the mountains.

Nature of History:

1. Historical thinkers ask questions to guide their research into the past.
2. Historical thinkers analyze the interaction, patterns, and contributions of various cultures and groups in the past.

(Note: By the completion of fourth grade, New Jersey students are expected to master the following standards.)

Social Studies Standard 6.1—U.S. History: America in the World

All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to think analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the environment shape the American heritage. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make informed decisions that reflect fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive citizens in local, national, and global communities.

• A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

  • Rules and laws are developed to protect peopleís rights and the security and welfare of society.
    • 6.1.4.A.1: Explain how rules and laws created by community, state, and national governments protect the rights of people, help resolve conflicts, and promote the common good.
  • The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights guarantee certain fundamental rights for citizens.
    • 6.1.4.A.2: Explain how fundamental rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights (i.e., freedom of expression, freedom of religion, the right to vote, and the right to due process) contribute to the continuation and improvement of American democracy.
  • American constitutional government is based on principles of limited government, shared authority, fairness, and equality.
    • 6.1.4.A.3: Determine how ìfairness,î ìequality,î and the ìcommon goodî have influenced change at the local and national levels of United States government.
  • There are different branches within the United States government, each with its own structure, leaders, and processes, and each designed to address specific issues and concerns.
    • 6.1.4.A.4: Explain how the United States government is organized and how the United States Constitution defines and limits the power of government.
    • 6.1.4.A.5: Distinguish the roles and responsibilities of the three branches of the national government.
    • 6.1.4.A.6: Explain how national and state governments share power in the federal system of government.
  • In a representative democracy, individuals elect representatives to act on the behalf of the people.
    • 6.1.4.A.7: Explain how the United States functions as a representative democracy, and describe the roles of elected representatives and how they interact with citizens at local, state, and national levels.
    • 6.1.4.A.8: Compare and contrast how government functions at the community, county, state, and national levels, the services provided, and the impact of policy decisions made at each level.
  • The examination of individual experiences, historical narratives, and events promotes an understanding of individual and community responses to the violation of fundamental rights.
    • 6.1.4.A.9: Compare and contrast responses of individuals and groups, past and present, to violations of fundamental rights.
    • 6.1.4.A.10: Describe how the actions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders served as catalysts for social change and inspired social activism in subsequent generations.
  • The United States democratic system requires active participation of its citizens.
    • 6.1.4.A.11: Explain how the fundamental rights of the individual and the common good of the country depend upon all citizens exercising their civic responsibilities at the community, state, national, and global levels.
    • 6.1.4.A.12: Explain the process of creating change at the local, state, or national level.
  • Immigrants can become and obtain the rights of American citizens.
    • 6.1.4.A.13: Describe the process by which immigrants become United States citizens.
  • The world is comprised of nations that are similar to and different from the United States.
    • 6.1.4.A.14: Describe how the world is divided into many nations that have their own governments, languages, customs, and laws.
  • In an interconnected world, it important to consider different cultural perspectives before proposing solutions to local, state, national, and global challenges.
    • 6.1.4.A.15: Explain how and why it is important that people from diverse cultures collaborate to find solutions to community, state, national, and global challenges.
    • 6.1.4.A.16: Explore how national and international leaders, businesses, and global organizations promote human rights and provide aid to individuals and nations in need.

• B: Geography, People, and the Environment

  • Spatial thinking and geographic tools can be used to describe and analyze the spatial patterns and organization of people, places, and environments on Earth.
    • 6.1.4.B.1: Compare and contrast information that can be found on different types of maps, and determine when the information may be useful.
    • 6.1.4.B.2: Use physical and political maps to explain how the location and spatial relationship of places in New Jersey, the United States, and other areas, worldwide, have contributed to cultural diffusion and economic interdependence.
    • 6.1.4.B.3: Explain how and when it is important to use digital geographic tools, political maps, and globes to measure distances and to determine time zones and locations using latitude and longitude.
  • Places are jointly characterized by their physical and human properties.
    • 6.1.4.B.4: Describe how landforms, climate and weather, and availability of resources have impacted where and how people live and work in different regions of New Jersey and the United States.
  • The physical environment can both accommodate and be endangered by human activities.
    • 6.1.4.B.5: Describe how human interaction impacts the environment in New Jersey and the United States.
  • Regions form and change as a result of unique physical/ecological conditions, economies, and cultures.
    • 6.1.4.B.6: Compare and contrast characteristics of regions in the United States based on culture, economics, politics, and physical environment to understand the concept of regionalism.
  • Patterns of settlement across Earthís surface differ markedly from region to region, place to place, and time to time.
    • 6.1.4.B.7: Explain why some locations in New Jersey and the United States are more suited for settlement than others.
    • 6.1.4.B.8: Compare ways people choose to use and divide natural resources.
  • Advancements in science and technology can have unintended consequences that impact individuals and/or societies.
    • 6.1.4.B.9: Relate advances in science and technology to environmental concerns, and to actions taken to address them.
  • Urban areas, worldwide, share common physical characteristics, but may also have cultural differences.
    • 6.1.4.B.10: Identify the major cities in New Jersey, the United States, and major world regions, and explain how maps, globes, and demographic tools can be used to understand tangible and intangible cultural differences.

• C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

  • People make decisions based on their needs, wants, and the availability of resources.
    • 6.1.4.C.1: Apply opportunity cost to evaluate individualsí decisions, including ones made in their communities.
    • 6.1.4.C.2: Distinguish between needs and wants and explain how scarcity and choice influence decisions made by individuals, communities, and nations.
  • Economics is a driving force for the occurrence of various events and phenomena in societies.
    • 6.1.4.C.3: Explain why incentives vary between and among producers and consumers.
    • 6.1.4.C.4: Describe how supply and demand influence price and output of products.
    • 6.1.4.C.5: Explain the role of specialization in the production and exchange of goods and services.
  • Interaction among various institutions in the local, national, and global economies influence policymaking and societal outcomes.
    • 6.1.4.C.6: Describe the role and relationship among households, businesses, laborers, and governments within the economic system.
    • 6.1.4.C.7: Explain how the availability of private and public goods and services is influenced by the global market and government.
    • 6.1.4.C.8: Illustrate how production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services are interrelated and are affected by the global market and events in the world community.
  • Availability of resources affects economic outcomes.
    • 6.1.4.C.9: Compare and contrast how access to and use of resources affects people across the world differently.
  • Understanding of financial instruments and outcomes assists citizens in making sound decisions about money, savings, spending, and investment.
    • 6.1.4.C.10: Explain the role of money, savings, debt, and investment in individualsí lives.
    • 6.1.4.C.11: Recognize the importance of setting long-term goals when making financial decisions within the community.
  • Creativity and innovation affect lifestyle, access to information, and the creation of new products and services.
    • 6.1.4.C.12: Evaluate the impact of ideas, inventions, and other contributions of prominent figures who lived New Jersey.
    • 6.1.4.C.13: Determine the qualities of entrepreneurs in a capitalistic society.
  • Economic opportunities in New Jersey and other states are related to the availability of resources and technology.
    • 6.1.4.C.14: Compare different regions of New Jersey to determine the role that geography, natural resources, climate, transportation, technology, and/or the labor force have played in economic opportunities.
    • 6.1.4.C.15: Describe how the development of different transportation systems impacted the economies of New Jersey and the United States.
  • Creativity and innovation have led to improvements in lifestyle, access to information, and the creation of new products.
    • 6.1.4.C.16: Explain how creativity and innovation resulted in scientific achievement and inventions in many cultures during different historical periods.
    • 6.1.4.C.17: Determine the role of science and technology in the transition from an agricultural society to an industrial society, and then to the information age.
    • 6.1.4.C.18: Explain how the development of communications systems has led to increased collaboration and the spread of ideas throughout the United States and the world.

• D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

  • Immigrants come to New Jersey and the United States for various reasons and have a major impact on the state and the nation.
    • 6.1.4.D.1: Determine the impact of European colonization on Native American populations, including the Lenni Lenape of New Jersey.
    • 6.1.4.D.2: Summarize reasons why various groups, voluntarily and involuntarily, immigrated to New Jersey and America, and describe the challenges they encountered.
    • 6.1.4.D.3: Evaluate the impact of voluntary and involuntary immigration on Americaís growth as a nation, historically and today.
  • Key historical events, documents, and individuals led to the development of our nation.
    • 6.1.4.D.4: Explain how key events led to the creation of the United States and the state of New Jersey.
    • 6.1.4.D.5: Relate key historical documents (i.e., the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights) to present day government and citizenship.
    • 6.1.4.D.6: Describe the civic leadership qualities and historical contributions of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin toward the development of the United States government.
    • 6.1.4.D.7: Explain the role Governor William Livingston played in the development of New Jersey government.
    • 6.1.4.D.8: Determine the significance of New Jerseyís role in the American Revolution.
    • 6.1.4.D.9: Explain the impact of trans-Atlantic slavery on New Jersey, the nation, and individuals.
  • Personal, family, and community history is a source of information for individuals about the people and places around them.
    • 6.1.4.D.10: Describe how the influence of Native American groups, including the Lenni Lenape culture, is manifested in different regions of New Jersey.
    • 6.1.4.D.11: Determine how local and state communities have changed over time, and explain the reasons for changes.
  • The study of American folklore and popular historical figures enables Americans with diverse cultural backgrounds to feel connected to a national heritage.
    • 6.1.4.D.12: Explain how folklore and the actions of famous historical and fictional characters from New Jersey and other regions of the United States contributed to the American national heritage.
  • Cultures include traditions, popular beliefs, and commonly held values, ideas, and assumptions that are generally accepted by a particular group of people.
    • 6.1.4.D.13: Describe how culture is expressed through and influenced by the behavior of people.
  • American culture, based on specific traditions and values, has been influenced by the behaviors of different cultural groups living in the United States.
    • 6.1.4.D.14: Trace how the American identity evolved over time.
  • Cultures struggle to maintain traditions in a changing society.
    • 6.1.4.D.15: Explain how various cultural groups have dealt with the conflict between maintaining traditional beliefs and practices and adopting new beliefs and practices.
  • Prejudice and discrimination can be obstacles to understanding other cultures.
    • 6.1.4.D.16: Describe how stereotyping and prejudice can lead to conflict, using examples from the past and present.
  • Historical symbols and the ideas and events they represent play a role in understanding and evaluating our history.
    • 6.1.4.D.17: Explain the role of historical symbols, monuments, and holidays and how they affect the American identity.
  • The cultures with which an individual or group identifies change and evolve in response to interactions with other groups and/or in response to needs or concerns.
    • 6.1.4.D.18: Explain how an individualís beliefs, values, and traditions may reflect more than one culture.
  • People view and interpret events differently because of the times in which they live, the experiences they have had, the perspectives held by their cultures, and their individual points of view.
    • 6.1.4.D.19: Explain how experiences and events may be interpreted differently by people with different cultural or individual perspectives.
    • 6.1.4.D.20: Describe why it is important to understand the perspectives of other cultures in an interconnected world.

Social Studies Standard 6.3—Active Citizenship in the 21st Century

All students will acquire the skills needed to be active, informed citizens who value diversity and promote cultural understanding by working collaboratively to address the challenges that are inherent in living in an interconnected world.

• Active citizens in the 21st century:

  1. Recognize that people have different perspectives based on their beliefs, values, traditions, culture, and experiences.
  2. Identify stereotyping, bias, prejudice, and discrimination in their lives and communities.
  3. Are aware of their relationships to people, places, and resources in the local community and beyond.
  4. Make informed and reasoned decisions by seeking and assessing information, asking questions, and evaluating alternate solutions.
  5. Develop strategies to reach consensus and resolve conflict.
  6. Demonstrate understanding of the need for fairness and take appropriate action against unfairness.

• A: Civics, Government, and Human Rights

  • 6.3.4.A.1: Evaluate what makes a good rule or law.
  • 6.3.4.A.2: Contact local officials and community members to acquire information and/or discuss local issues.
  • 6.3.4.A.3: Select a local issue and develop a group action plan to inform school and/or community members about the issue.
  • 6.3.4.A.4: Communicate with students from various countries about common issues of public concern and possible solutions.

• B: Geography, People, and the Environment

  • 6.3.4.B.1: Plan and participate in an advocacy project to inform others about environmental issues at the local or state level and propose possible solutions.

• C: Economics, Innovation, and Technology

  • 6.3.4.C.1: Develop and implement a group initiative that addresses an economic issue impacting children.

• D: History, Culture, and Perspectives

  • 6.3.4.D.1: Identify actions that are unfair or discriminatory, such as bullying, and propose solutions to address such actions.

Social Studies Skills

Essential Question:

What are effective strategies for accessing various sources of information and historical evidence, determining their validity, and using them to solve a problem or find a solution to a public policy question?

• Construct timelines of the events occurring during major eras.
• Explain how major events are related to one another in time.
• Select and use various geographic representations to compare information about people, places, regions, and environments.
• Use maps and other documents to explain the historical migration of people, expansion and disintegration of empires, and growth of economic and political systems.
• Compare and contrast differing interpretations of current and historical events.
• Assess the credibility of sources by identifying bias and prejudice in documents, media, and computer-generated information.
• Select and analyze information from a variety of sources to present a reasoned argument or position in a written and/or oral format.

Theme: Communities—Past and Present, Near and Far

The local community serves as the focal point for third grade as students begin to understand how their communities have changed over time and to make comparisons with communities in other places. The study of local history comes alive through the use of artifacts and documents. They also learn how communities are governed and how the local economy is organized.

• History Strand

  • Historical Thinking and Skills

    • 1. Events in local history can be shown on timelines organized by years, decades and centuries.
    • 2. Primary sources such as artifacts, maps and photographs can be used to show change over time.

  • Heritage

    • 3. Local communities change over time.

• Geography Strand

  • Spatial Thinking and Skills

    • 4. Physical and political maps have distinctive characteristics and purposes. Places can be located on a map by using the title, key, alphanumeric grid and cardinal directions.

  • Places and Regions

    • 5. Daily life is influenced by the agriculture, industry and natural resources in different communities.

  • Human Systems

    • 6. Evidence of human modification of the environment can be observed in the local community.
    • 7. Systems of transportation and communication move people, products and ideas from place to place.
    • 8. Communities may include diverse cultural groups.

• Government Strand

  • Civic Participation and Skills

    • 9. Members of local communities have social and political responsibilities.
    • 10. Individuals make the community a better place by solving problems in a way that promotes the common good.

  • Rules and Laws

    • 11. Laws are rules which apply to all people in a community and describe ways people are expected to behave. Laws promote order and security, provide public services and protect the rights of individuals in the local community.

  • Roles and Systems of Government

    • 12. Governments have authority to make and enforce laws.
    • 13. The structure of local governments may differ from one community to another.

• Economics Strand

  • Economic Decision Making and Skills

    • 14. Line graphs are used to show changes in data over time.
    • 15. Both positive and negative incentives affect peopleís choices and behaviors.

  • Scarcity

    • 16. Individuals must make decisions because of the scarcity of resources. Making a decision involves an opportunity cost, the value of the next best alternative given up when an economic choice is made.

  • Production and Consumption

    • 17. A consumer is a person whose wants are satisfied by using goods and services. A producer makes goods and/or provides services.

  • Markets

    • 18. A market is where buyers and sellers exchange goods and services.

  • Financial Literacy

    • 19. Making decisions involves weighing costs and benefits.
    • 20. A budget is a plan to help people make personal economic decisions for the present and future and to become more financially responsible.

(Note: By the completion of fourth grade, Vermont students are expected to master the following standards.)

Vermont Academic Content Standards: History and Social Sciences

• Inquiry

  • H&SS3-4:1—Social and Historical Questioning

    Students initiate an inquiry by:

    • Asking relevant and focusing questions based on what they have seen, what they have read, what they have listened to, and/or what they have researched (e.g., Why was the soda machine taken out of the school? Why is the number of family farms in Vermont growing smaller?).

  • H&SS3-4:2—Hypothesis/Research Statement

    Students develop a hypothesis, thesis, or research statement by:

    • Using prior knowledge to predict results or proposing a choice about a possible action (e.g., using experience from a field trip to the nature center, propose a way to preserve Vermont’s natural habitats).

  • H&SS3-4:3—Research Plan

    Students design research by:

    • Identifying resources for finding answers to their questions (e.g., books, videos, people, and the Internet).
    • Identifying tasks and how they will be completed, including a plan for citing sources (e.g., I will interview the principal about why the soda machine was taken out of the school).
    • Planning how to organize information so it can be shared.

  • H&SS3-4:4—Conducting Research

    Students conduct research by:

    • Referring to and following a plan for an inquiry.
    • Locating relevant materials such as print, electronic, and human resources.
    • Describing evidence and recording observations using notecards, videotape, tape recorders, journals, or databases (e.g., taking notes while interviewing the principal).
    • Citing sources.

  • H&SS3-4:5

    Students develop reasonable explanations that support the research statement by:

    • Organizing and displaying information in a manner appropriate to the research statement through tables, graphs, maps, dioramas, charts, narratives, and/or posters.
    • Classifying information and justifying groupings based upon observations, prior knowledge, and/or research.
    • Using appropriate methods for interpreting information such as comparing and contrasting.

  • H&SS3-4:6

    Students make connections to research by:

    • Explaining the relevance of their findings to the research question.
    • Proposing solutions to problems and asking other questions.
    • Identifying what was easy or difficult about following the research plan.

  • H&SS3-4:7

    Students communicate their findings by:

    • Giving an oral, written, or visual presentation that summarizes their findings.

• History

  • H&SS3-4:8

    Students connect the past with the present by:

    • Explaining differences between historic and present day objects in Vermont, and identifying how the use of the object and the object itself changed over time (e.g., evaluating how the change from taps and buckets to pipelines has changed the maple sugaring industry).
    • Describing ways that life in the community and Vermont has both changed and stayed the same over time (e.g., general stores and shopping centers).
    • Examining how events, people, problems and ideas have shaped the community and Vermont (e.g., Ann Story’s role in the American Revolution).

  • H&SS3-4:9

    Students show understanding of how humans interpret history by:

    • Identifying and using various sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos, and others.
    • Differentiating among fact, opinion, and interpretation in various events.

  • H&SS3-4:10

    Students show understanding of past, present, and future time by:

    • Grouping historical events in the history of the local community and state by broadly defined eras.
    • Constructing time lines of significant historical developments in the community and state, and identifying the dates at which each occurred.
    • Interpreting data presented in time lines.
    • Measuring calendar time by days, weeks, months, years, decades, and centuries (e.g., How old is your town?).
    • Making predictions and/or decisions based on an understanding of the past and the present (e.g., What was farming in Vermont like in the past? What is it like now? What will it be like in the future?).
    • Identifying an important event in their communities and/or Vermont, and describing a cause and an effect of that event (e.g., Excessive rain caused the flood of 1927, and as a result communication systems have changed to warn people.).

• Physical and Cultural Geography

  • H&SS3-4:11

    Students interpret geography and solve geographic problems by:

    • Identifying characteristics of surrounding towns and the state
      of Vermont using resources such as road signs, landmarks,
      models, maps, photographs and mental mapping.
    • Observing, comparing, and analyzing patterns of local and state land use (e.g., agriculture, forestry, industry) to understand why particular locations are used for certain human activities.
    • Locating the physical and political regions of Vermont (e.g., six regions, towns, counties).
    • Locating countries and major cities in North America.
    • Locating major global physical divisions, such as continents, oceans, poles, equator, tropics, Arctic and Antarctic Circles, tropical, mid-latitude and polar regions.
    • Creating effective geographic representations using appropriate elements to demonstrate an understanding of relative location, location, size, and shape of the local community, Vermont, the U.S., and locations worldwide (e.g., create a representation of a globe, including continents, oceans, and major parallels).
    • Identifying and using basic elements of the map (e.g., cardinal directions and key).
    • Using grid systems to locate places on maps and globes (e.g., longitude and latitude)..
    • Asking appropriate geographic questions and using geographic resources to answer them (e.g., what product is produced in a region and why; atlas, globe, wall maps, reference books).

  • H&SS3-4:12

    Students show understanding of human interaction with the environment over time by:

    • Describing how people have changed the environment in Vermont for specific purposes (e.g., clear-cutting, sheepraising, interstate highways, farming, ski resorts).
    • Identifying and participating in ways they can contribute to preserving natural resources (e.g., creating a class or school recycling center).
    • Describing a community or state environmental issue (e.g., creating a slide show describing the environmental issues surrounding Lake Champlain).
    • Describing how patterns of human activities (for example, housing, transportation, food consumption, or employment) relate to natural resource distribution (e.g., how population concentrations in Vermont developed around fertile lowlands, French/English/Indian conflict for furs in northern Vermont.)
    • Recognizing patterns of voluntary and involuntary migration in Vermont (e.g., use maps and place names to hypothesize about movements of people).

  • H&SS3-4:13

    Students analyze how and why cultures continue and change over time by:

    • Identifying expressions of culture in Vermont and the U.S., such as language, social institutions, beliefs and customs, economic activities, behaviors, material goods, food, clothing, buildings, tools, and machines (e.g., discovering how Abenaki oral tradition reflects and influences their society).
    • Describing the contributions of various cultural groups to Vermont and the U.S. (e.g., describing French cultural diffusion in Vermont).
    • Identifying ways in which culture in Vermont has changed (e.g., Colonists learning maple sugaring from the Indians, Indians acquiring metal tools in exchange for furs).

• Civics, Government and Society

  • H&SS3-4:14

    Students act as citizens by:

    • Identifying the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in a school and local community (e.g., the right to use town roads and speak one’s mind at town meeting, the responsibility to pay town taxes).
    • Demonstrating positive interaction with group members (e.g., working with a group of people to complete a task).
    • Identifying problems, planning and implementing solutions in the classroom, school or community.
    • Explaining their own point of view on issues that affect themselves and society (e.g., forming an opinion about a social or environmental issue in Vermont, then writing a letter to a legislator to try to influence change).
    • Demonstrating the role of individuals in the election processes (e.g., voting in class or mock elections).
    • Describing the roots of American culture, its development and many traditions, and the ways many people from a variety of groups and backgrounds played a role in creating it.
    • Participating in setting, following and changing the rules of the group and school.

  • H&SS3-4:15

    Students show understanding of various forms of government by:

    • Comparing similarities of rules and laws (e.g., how are bike helmet and seatbelt laws similar?).
    • Knowing where to locate written rules and laws for school and community.
    • Explaining what makes a just rule or law (e.g., provides protection for members of the group).
    • Describing how characteristics of good leadership and fair decision-making affect others (e.g., cooperative group behavior).

  • H&SS3-4:16

    Students examine how different societies address issues of human interdependence by:

    • Explaining how a community promotes human rights.
    • Identifying and describing ways regional, ethnic, and national cultures influence individuals’ daily lives (e.g., reading myths and legends to learn about the origins of culture).
    • Defining their own rights and needs—and the rights and needs of others—in the classroom, school, and community (e.g., establishing a clothing drive/swap for the needy; creating a park for roller blades).
    • Giving examples of ways that she or he is similar to and different from others (e.g. gender, race, religion, ethnicity.).
    • Citing examples, both past and present, of how diversity has led to change (e.g., Native Americans moving to reservations).
    • Identifying examples of interdependence among individuals and groups. (e.g., buyers and sellers; performers and audience).
    • Identifying behaviors that foster cooperation among individuals.
    • Identifying different types of conflict among individuals and groups (e.g., girls and boys, religion, material goods).
    • Explaining different ways in which conflict has been resolved, and different ways in which conflicts and their resolutions have affected people (e.g., reservations and Indian schools; Green Mountain Boys; treaties).

  • H&SS3-4:17

    Students examine how access to various institutions affects justice, reward, and power by:

    • Describing ways in which local institutions promote the common
      good (e.g., state police, library, recreation programs).

• Economics

  • H&SS3-4:18

    Students show an understanding of the interaction/interdependence between humans, the environment, and the economy by:

    • Tracing the production, distribution, and consumption of goods in Vermont (e.g., after visiting a sugar house, tracing the distribution of locally-produced maple syrup).
    • Describing how producers in Vermont have used natural, human, and capital resources to produce goods and services (e.g., describing the natural, human, and capital resources needed to produce maple syrup).
    • Describing the causes and effects of economic activities on the environment in Vermont (e.g., granite industry).

  • H&SS3-4:19

    Students show understanding of the interconnectedness between government and the economy by:

    • Identifying goods and services provided by local and state governments (e.g., firefighters, highways, museums).
    • Explaining the relationship between taxation and governmental goods and services in Vermont (e.g., town taxes provide for road upkeep).
    • Describing and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using currency vs. bartering in the exchange of goods and services (e.g., an advantage of bartering is that one doesn’t need money, a disadvantage is determining fairness).

  • H&SS3-4:20

    Students make economic decisions as a consumer, producer, saver, investor, and citizen by:

    • Examining factors that influence supply and demand (e.g., Why is Vermont considering investing in wind energy?).
    • Explaining ways people meet their basic needs and wants (e.g., people buy oil because they need heat; people buy video games because they want entertainment).
    • Comparing prices of goods and services.
    • Explaining how people save (e.g., by giving up something you want, by saving your allowance, by putting money in the bank).